Turkish Medical Association head Sebnem Korur Fincanci was detained and jailed in October for using a television interview to highlight claims that first surfaced in media close to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The militia alleged that 17 of its fighters had died in Turkish chemical weapons attacks in the mountains of northern Iraq that month.

The group is considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara and its Western allies for waging a bloody insurgency since 1984.

Its media outlets are banned in Turkey and its claims are uniformally rejected by Ankara.

An Istanbul criminal court on Wednesday found Fincanci guilty of disseminating "terrorist propaganda" -- a charge that could have seen her jailed for 7.5 years.

But it sentenced her to less than three years in prison and ordered her immediate release.

In Turkey, people who get sentenced to less than four years are usually put under court supervision but allowed to go free.

The verdict delivered a rare setback for prosecutors in a country where thousands of the government's political opponents -- many of them Kurds -- are languishing behind bars.

Fincanci is a veteran forensic medicine expert who has collaborated with international organisations on past investigations into possible military crimes.

Her television interview infuriated the Turkish army and was personally condemned by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Turkish leader accused Fincanci of "speaking the language of terrorism" while the defence ministry called her comments "slander".

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The trial has been accompanied by stepped up security measures and a heavy riot police presence both inside and outside the Istanbul courthouse.

Fincanci told the court on Wednesday that she did not expect a fair trial.

She cited a Turkish poll showing that "one out of every two people believes that people are in prison based on what they think".

Fincanci's medical association has a history of supporting opposition causes and sparring with Erdogan's government.

It criticised the health ministry's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and staged protests demanding better pay.

The union says that all 11 of its executive committee members are now under investigation for potential "membership of a terrorist organisation".

Fincanci herself was briefly detained in 2016 for appearing as a guest editor for a small newspaper read by Turkey's Kurdish community.

But her collaborations with forensic experts working with the United Nations in places such as Bosnia has drawn international attention to the trial.

German human rights commissioner Luise Amtsberg called Fincanci "one of Turkey's bravest voices" and top global rights groups have demanded her release.

"The ruling in this politically motivated trial is unjust and must be overturned on appeal," the Dublin-based Front Line Defenders rights group tweeted after Fincanci was found guilty.

"Good that Fincanci is being released from pre-trial detention but she must not spend any more time behind bars!"